20 Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy

Individuals who are mentally and emotionally healthy have the ability to control their behavior. They also have the capability to handle life trials and challenges. They can recover from serious setbacks. And they able to build strong and healthy relationships with others. To stay mentally healthy, we need effort, commitment, and dedication. Featured picture: Pixabay.

Picture 1. Happy Women (Pexels)

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Enhancing your mental and emotional health is a rewarding experience. You will definitely love it. Mental health can benefit all the salient aspects of your life. It is adding enjoyment to your day to day activities, building resilience, and boost your mood.

It is very important to get rid of a mental health problem in a short period of time. Here, you will learn the significance of emotional and mental health.

Emotional or mental health usually refers to your psychological being. It also includes your ability to:

manage your emotions and feelings,

build relationships,

develop the way you look and feel about yourself and how you can deal with extreme difficulties.

Mental health is not only about the absence of mental health issues and problems. Being mentally healthy is more than being free of psychological issues. The absence of mental problems refers to the presence of excellent characteristics.

Positive and good mental health allows you to:

Make evocative contributions to your community

Work productively

Cope with pressure and stress in life

Realize your full potential

Believe in your own abilities

Enjoy socializing

Enjoy life’s pleasures

Picture 2. Mariah Carey (Pexels)

Characteristic of individuals who are mentally healthy:

1. They have high self-esteem and self-confidence.

2. They have the ability to maintain and build fulfilling relationships.

3. They have a balance between their play – work, activity – rest, etc.

4. They have the flexibility to know and learn new things. At the same time, they can adapt it to change.

5. They have a great sense of purpose and meaning in their relationships and activities.

6. They have the ability to have fun and laugh as well as they have the zest for living.

7. They have a great sense of tranquility and contentment.

8. They have the ability to deal with life challenges and stress and bounce back from adversity.

The positive mental health will allow you to take part in all the latest happenings in your life.

Warning Signs of Having Emotional or Mental Health Problems

Mental health issues and problems are quite common in different parts of the world. Some people live with a serious mental problem, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Moreover, suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan.

Not all people are aware of the warning signs of having mental health problems. The warning signs are:

1. Inability to execute daily activities and tasks. For example: getting to school or work and taking care of your family and kids

2. Thinking of harming other people and yourself

3. Believing things or hearing voices that are not real

4. Having persistent memories and thoughts that you can’t get out of your mind

5. Experiencing mood swings that can cause major problems in your relationships

Tips on how to stay mentally healthy

Being mentally healthy does not mean that you are not going to experience bad times. Most people go through change, loss, and disappointments. These are normal parts of your life. But they can still cause stress, anxiety, and sadness.

The difference is people who are mentally healthy able to bounce back from stress, trauma, and adversity. We know this type of ability as resilience.

Being resilient does not cost anything and anyone can master it. Especially with the presence of practice. Most of all, being resilient has the ability to enhance every aspect of your life.

Before reading more tips to become mentally healthy, let us watch a video below:

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The following are some tips that will make getting a hold on your mental health much easier:

1. Learn good nutrition

You need to learn how to have a well-balanced diet. A lot of people are unaware of how large of role nutrition actually plays in our moods and our mental health. It may be difficult for you to follow this diet in the beginning but it will pay off in the long run.

Picture 3. Healthy Foods (Pexels)

2. Get enough hours of sleep

The first thing that you need to do is to take good care of yourself, especially your body. Having enough rest and getting adequate hours of sleep is important. Individuals need 7-8 hours of sleep every night to function optimally. If you have enough hours of sleep, you can be sure that you are one step closer to become mentally healthy.

Exercise is a powerful antidote for depression, anxiety, and stress. It can lift up your mood. You can look for simple ways to add exercise into your daily activities. Taking the stairs of your office instead of using the elevator, going on short walks, or 30 minutes of daily exercise can be a great help.

Regular exercise will not only strengthen your lungs and heart. It also has the potential to release endorphins within your body. It also lifts your mood.

4. Get a small dose of sunlight each day

Sunlight has the ability to lift your mood. The best thing that you can do is to get a small dose of sunlight each day for about 10-15 minutes. You can also do it while you are socializing, gardening and exercising.

6. Avoid using drugs and cigarettes

These are well-known stimulants that have the ability to let you feel good for a short period of time. But they have long-term negative effects. Especially for your emotional health and mood.

Picture 4. A Smoking Woman

7. Take good care of yourself

There is a connection between physical health, emotional, and mental health. Taking good care of yourself is a powerful way to get a hold on your emotional and mental health. When you develop your physical health, you will experience emotional and mental well-being.

To improve emotional and mental health, the first thing that you can do is to take good care of yourself. It is very essential to pay attention to your feelings and needs. Don’t let negative emotions and stress build up in your system. It can harm your health.

You have to balance the things that you love to do and your responsibilities. If you take good care of yourself, you are ready to deal with trials and challenges that might come into your life. It includes pursuing the activities that release endorphins within your body.

8. Positively impact others

It is a fact that being useful to other people can build self-confidence and self-esteem. Do certain things that can impact other people in a nice and meaningful way.

9. Practice the importance of self-discipline

Self-control can lead to a sense of hopefulness. At the same time, it can help you to overcome your negative thoughts, helplessness, and despair. By practicing self-discipline, you can become mentally healthy.

10.Enjoy the wondrous beauty of art and nature

By walking in your garden, you can reduce your stress. It also lower down the level of your blood pressure. Sitting on a beach, viewing architecture, hiking and strolling through art galleries and parks can also lower your blood pressure and reduce stress.

Picture 5. An Artistic Wall

11.Manage your level of stress

According to researchers, stress takes a heavy toll on people’s mental health. This is one of the reasons why you need to manage and control your stress. It is a fact that we can not prevent all stressors. But stress management will help you to bring things into balance.

12. Limit your unhealthy emotional and mental habits

Too much worrying is an unhealthy emotional and mental habits of most people in the present time. It is very important to avoid becoming too absorbed by your repetitive mental habits. Moreover, negative thoughts can suck up your time and drain your energy. It can also trigger your feelings of depression, fear, and anxiety.

13.Express your feeling

Talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled. Talking about your feelings isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s part of taking charge of your wellbeing and doing what you can to stay healthy.

Talking can be a way to cope with a problem you’ve been carrying around in your head for a while. Just being listened to can help you feel supported and less alone.

14. Appeal on your senses

Stay energized and calm by appealing on your five senses such as taste, smell, touch, sound, and sight. You can listen to your favorite music to lift up your mood.

You can also place a bounce of flowers on your patio where you can smell and see them. You can massage your feet and hands or you can sip your favorite warm drink. Read more “15 Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage” here.

Picture 6. Essential Oils (Pixabay)

15.Engage in creative and meaningful work

You can execute things that will challenge your superior creativity. By doing this, you can be sure that you feel more productive every single day.

You can engage yourself in gardening, playing an instrument, writing, drawing or even building your own workshop. By doing this, you can explore your strengths and weaknesses.

Picture 7. A Creative Woman

16.Get a pet

It is a fact that pets are a big responsibility. But caring for a pet will make you feel loved and needed. Your pet can also serve as your buddy. You will also need to take your pet for a walk and this will cause you to exercise and meet new people.

Picture 8. A Woman and Her Pet

17.Make your leisure time a priority

If you are doing things for no reason, it simply means that you are happy and contented while doing them. Spend your leisure time with exciting and memorable activities:

a walk on the beach,

reading amazing books,

chatting with your friends,

listening to your favorite music, and

watching a funny movie.

It is true that playing is a mental and emotional health necessity.

18.Make time for your appreciation and contemplation

The first thing that you can do is to think of all the wondrous things that you are grateful for. You can pray, meditate, enjoy watching the beautiful sunset or spend time paying attention to what is beautiful, positive and good.

Picture 9. Meditation

Everyone is different and not all things will be beneficial to all people. There are some individuals who prefer to relax. Some individuals want to have more activities to enjoy and explore.

19. Healthy relationship

Having close friends and family is very good for mental health. Having someone to chat to and socialize with is essential for well-being. If you do not feel supported by your family, friends can really swoop in and be there for you.

20. Getting professional guidance, advice, and therapy if you need it

Have you already made all your efforts to enhance your emotional and mental health? Still don’t feel good? It is the time for you to seek professional help. Most people are socially attuned. Input from a competent professional can help you to regain your mental health. Feel free to check out the BetterHelp Online Therapy here. BetterHelp matches you to the right therapist.

What are your tips to stay mentally healthy? Please add your comment and I will be more than happy reply to the comment. Share this article if you think it will help others. Sharing is caring, thank you.

16 Replies to “20 Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy”

Hi Melani! This is a great post! It’s worthy of being shared over and over again on social media. So many people struggling with this, and you have great advice for all of us.

I indeed like your approach. You state the synthons and then address these wonderful 20 tips to improve. I personally like very much what you wrote in tips 1 and 8. Eating healthy is in so many occasions under esteemed. And serving others primarily benefits us. 🙂

Like you said, it all boils down to taking care of your body, stimulating your mind, staying positive, and surrounding yourself with positive people.

The one thing I have had trouble with lately is number 2 – Get enough hours of sleep. Even though I have been sleeping about 8 hours a night, I was beginning to wake up tired and a little depressed.

I came to find out that I wasn’t successfully going through all the stages of sleep. There are 4 stages of sleep including REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Stage 3 is deep sleep – and stage 4 is REM sleep where dreaming takes place. Throughout the sleep period, we are supposed to cycle through all 4 stages of sleep about every 2 hours.

I was just experiencing the first two stages – so I was not getting enough deep sleep or REM sleep. It seemed like every time there was a noise outside, I would wake up quickly – before I could get into stage 3, deep sleep.

I solved this problem very simply by wearing ear plugs which muffled external noise and allowed me to get through all 4 sleep stages.

Hi, Jessie. I do understand your statement. We want to accomplish our goals in life in a certain period. Just listen to your body. Try to go bed when your body scream that you need it. According to a study, too much sleep is not good for our health.You may want to read the report here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864873/ Long sleepers (commonly > 8 or 9 h per night) have a 30% greater risk of dying than those sleeping 7 to 8 h per night.

thanks, good article….mental health can encompass so many aspects of your being, and provided your ‘mental health’ isn’t compromised due to prescription or anti-psychotic drugs, which can definitely cause people serious problems, or, they aren’t a targeted individual who thinks there is something wrong with them but it is due to external factors they can’t control (believe me, this is happening to many people around the globe with the purpose of ‘driving them crazy’ and destroying them), if those aren’t factors, then one has a much better chance at being proactive in doing something that will change the way they ‘feel’ about themselves, and their life. I agree, diet is extremely important, and, making plans for change in your life, and sticking with it (discipline) is the other. That one is the most difficult for me, so it’s a good reminder!

Hi. 😔 Sadly I must agree that your statement is right. There are some bad people who want to destroy others. That is the the worst possibility that can be happened around us. So we must be careful with whom we interact. Discipline is important to stay mentally healthy. Thank you for your comment.

Mental health is a very serious topic. This is a great article on ways to work on keeping our mental health mor healthy. There are so many great things in this article that I would have never thought of.

I was just wondering what you think of Nootropics when it comes to mental health.

I must say that I am glad that I found this article as it can help me a lot to stay healthy. We all are mentally weak today and many people run for drugs and some unpractical methods. I think that first thing that we should is to change our lifestyle and it will become better. Regular and healthy nutrition and exercise are one of the best ways to improve our life.

My girlfriend has trouble staying mentally healthy and when she feels down I am ALWAYS there for her no matter what, never leave her to feel alone or lost. I don’t mind being there for her because I love her but sometimes she asks if I want to and not just feel like I have to, but I genuinely do like to be there for her. I think these tips are great especially #8 and #13. Thank you. I might send her to this page, do you think it would be a good idea?

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